e would say: "Did you promise to give
A anything for the $100?" "No, sir." "Then the law will not help you
out. You cannot get the money from him by any legal method. Perhaps
you can get $100 worth of fun in licking him for not giving you the
money, but you cannot get the cash. But, mind, perhaps you had better
not try to get your fun in that way, for this is contrary to law, and
he might get much more than $100 out of you in the way of damages for
licking him."

In every case, therefore, there must be _something for something_. Now
this something may be a thousand things. It may be money or
merchandise or work. In short, there is no end of the things that may
serve as a consideration of a contract. An example may be given to
explain what is meant by this. A man had been speculating in stocks,
and one of the rules of the stock board is that a margin or sum of
money that is to be paid for stock must be paid in every case. It may
be that an additional margin or sum must be paid under some
circumstances. The speculator in this particular case was unwilling to
pay this margin, and he said to the broker: "If you will do as I wish,
and not put up this margin, I will save you from any loss that may
result from such conduct." It was contrary to the rules of that stock
exchange for the broker not to put up the margin, and the consequence
was that he was put off the floor; in other words, the board would not
permit him to act as a member. Of course, as he could not buy and sell
any more stock, he lost money; and he went to his customer, the
speculator, and told him that he was losing money in consequence of
carrying out his order about the margin. The speculator said he was
sorry, but he could not help it. The broker then insisted that the
speculator must make good his daily loss in consequence of doing as he
had promised. This the speculator would not do. The broker then sued
him for the amount of his loss. The speculator defended on the ground
that there was no consideration for the agreement he had made with
the broker about the margin. The court said that the loss which the
broker had suffered in consequence of carrying out his contract with
the speculator was a good consideration for the contract and must be
made good.

_When a contract is sealed the law implies that there is
consideration_, and there need not be an actual one consisting of
money, labour, or any other thing. This seems like an exception to the
rule requir